Pioneer Valley Community Team - MA

The Pioneer Valley Mothers Out Front communities are vibrant and growing. We have two organized locations, in Amherst and in Northampton, with many members all over Western Massachusetts.

One of the ways people know us is from our weekly email, the Monday Action, with an idea for an easy, quick action for you to do, like call the Governor or email your State Representative to voice your concerns about climate change issues.

We facilitate house parties, monthly meetings/discussions, family potlucks and picnics and other great gatherings, so check out our Facebookpage to stay up to date.

Our leadership groups, the Organizing Teams, are open-hearted and dynamic women who actively engage mothers, grandmothers, and others to do something NOW about our children's future. If you want to join in, there are plenty of opportunities, big and small. To get involved, fill out this form and we'll contact you soon.

Friday 7/14, 4:30pm-6:00pm, Community Choice Aggregation plus. Let's work together to go 100% Renewable with community electricity, local clean energy, and energy efficiency, in our region. Meeting in Hadley. Contact info.ma.pioneervalley@mothersoutfront.org.

House Parties!

Join us at a House Party! Learn about Mothers Out Front Front’s approach and current actions, meet other compassionate, concerned mothers and others.

Contact us about our next one.

Children welcome with RSVP so we can arrange childcare!

More info and RSVP to info.ma.pioneervalley@mothersoutfront.org

Regular Meetings!

Amherst

Mothers Out Front Amherst holds Monthly Meetings on the third Monday of every month in Amherst from 6:00 - 8:00pm. Topics discussed and actions taken in recent meetings: natural gas leaks, green development, 100% Renewable in Amherst, engaging friends and family in discussions and actions around climate change.

Open to all! Light dinner served. Children welcome. For more information and to RSVP: greenzinnia at hotmail dot com.

Northampton

Mothers Out Front Northampton meets every other week on Sundays, 4:30-6:00pm. For more information contact: info.ma.pioneervalley@mothersoutfront.org

As a region, we also participate in Climate Action Now meetings on the fourth Monday of every month. Meetings alternate each month between the Unitarian Society in Amherst and in Northampton.

Like us on Facebook and get updates on our next events and other news.

What Can I Do?

Right Now:

Let us know you're interested, learn more about us, get Monday Actions and other MOF emails. Sign up here.

Become a member, support the local, state, and national movement, get Monday Actions and other MOF emails

Talk about MOF to a group you’re already involved with (e.g. school, church, work place, non profit)

Table with MOF literature at a festival or event you’re attending

Resources

Our Amherst Community Team has many tools to share with you:

Fill out this form to let us know how you might best engage with us: Get Involved.

Write to elected officials, business and community leaders to ask them to step up the pace of building renewable energy infrastructure. Ask them to conserve energy and switch to green energy in their own home!

Help us Light Up the Map with other people willing to call their state representatives to support bills that could transform our economy from fossil fuel to renewable energy. Watch how students at UMass Amherst did this at the bottom of this page.

And if you want a quick overview about what Renewable Energy Credits are, check out this 2 minute video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSuM7R_1ses&app=desktop

Telling our personal narratives is a core organizing tool in Mothers Out Front. Hearing what moves one of us to do something about climate change moves all of us. Our stories bind us together. What's yours?

Past Events

On January 25, 2017 Mothers Out Front Pioneer Valley partnered with Climate Action Now for a community event called "Climate Action in a Time of Crisis." There were 650 people in attendance at First Churches in Northampton. Lily Lombard, Northampton MOF member, was moderator for the four speakers: Solomon Goldstein Rose, State Rep for Amherst/Pelham/Granby; State Senator Stan Rosenberg; Marty Nathan, community activist and physician; Nat Fortune, physics professor, Smith College. Mothers Out Front members led a variety of break out groups including Talking with Children About Climate Change, Consumerism and Climate Change, Telling Your Story/Public Narrative, Talking to Local Officials About Climate Change, and more. These small groups were not only rich and rewarding.

Gas Leaks Campaign

Over the spring and summer of 2016 we brought attention to the hundreds of gas leaks in our neighborhoods all over the Pioneer Valley.

At the Amherst Sustainability Fair in April, 2016 we debuted our map of Amherst with holes where the unrepaired gas leaks were. Children played at throwing corks through the holes to "plug the leaks" while parents talked with us about our work for a livable future for our kids.

We co-sponsored a June presentation by Ania Camargo of Mothers Out Front, Boston, about the dangers of gas leaking under the streets of every town and city. Below are the leaks from 2015. The Yellow tags mark unrepaired leaks.

We joined in The World We Love...

An Interdependence Day Pageant July 2, 2016 included parades, giant puppets, a play and singing.

Mothers out Front members were involved in all aspects of the spectacle. Then we and our allies led the crowd to tag gas leaks in all directions from downtown Northampton.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette carried a two page spread in the Calendar section the next week of photos of the event.

...and tagged gas leaks in Northampton!

Countdown to Paris 2015

The Climate talks in Paris started on November 30th, 2015. On Sunday, November 29th, Mothers Out Front, Pioneer Valley, co-sponsored family-friendly local gatherings with Climate Action Now and faith communities. We shared our commitment to a clean, healthy future for the next 7 generations.

On Thursday, June 11th, 2015 we were in Greenfield for a hearing with the MA Department of Public Utilities. Four Mothers Out Front leaders testified about why new pipelines are not in the public's interest. We told the Baker administration we want renewable, diverse sources of energy for our children's future. The entire 4 hour hearing is here. Below you can see the full house of 700 people and our own Alisa P. chatting with one of the union guys who came to support the pipeline because Kinder Morgan employs their union.

On April 12th, 2015, we celebrated the 8th week of our 40 week "Count Down to Paris" - Monday Actions.

On February 23rd, 2015, we launched our 40 week "Count Down to Paris" - Monday Actions

On January 23rd, 2015, Pioneer Valley Mothers Out Front was featured in an article on our Switch Campaign in the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Check it out here.

On November 21st, 2014, Pioneer Valley Mothers Out Front went to Boston for the Climate Crossroads, Climate Choices rally. We stood on the Governor's front steps representing two futures, the dark of increasing fossil fuel infrastructure and the bright colored future we have chosen by reducing our energy consumption and switching to clean electricity.